Method of preserving perishable products.



1.1. CLINTON.

METHOD 0F PRESERVING PERISHABLE PRODUCTS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I6. I9I1.

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

1 um' noz THOMHS d. CLINTON (11101 Ic IJ THOMAS J'. CLINTON,

OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, .ASSIGNOR TO UNITED REFRIGERATORS COMPANY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

METHOD 0F PRESERVING- PERISHABLE PRODUCTS.

Substitute for abandoned application Serial No. 855,582,

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS J. CLINTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Methods of Preserving Perishable Products, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description o the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a method of preserving perishable products in refrigerators of various types and capacities and for various uses as cold storage houses, refrigerator cars, or refrigerators for household or other use, and an object of the invention is a method whereby gases and moisture arising from the stored material may be separated from the circulating body therein and discharged from the compartment and fresh air introduced into the circulating body whereby the circulating body is maintained in a substantially pure state and at the required temperature necessary to prevent deterioration of the product.

The accompanying drawings `disclose one type of refrigerator by means of which the herein described method may be put into practice, although it is to be fully understood thatthe same method may be utilized in refrigerators of any particular type.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a refrigerator car constructed and arranged for the performance of my improved method.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line v of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a shield formed at the ceiling ofthe car or storage chamber showing an arrangement of air passages between the shield and supporting ceiling.

In any type of refrigerator within my knowledge, fruits and vegetables and other products of a perishable nature will ripen or deteriorate even though the temperature within the car is considerably less than that of outside atmosphere and meats also become discolored and covered with a slime if kept for a suicient period. I have found by experiment that this ripening of fruit Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 1, 1918. led August 7, 1914. This application led April Serial No. 162,425.

and the like and the deterioration of perishable products in general is caused by the presence of a gas (mainly carbon dioXid) arising from the product and confined with- 1n the storage compartment and combining with the moisture introduced thereinto from the icing chamber forms a slime on meats, and a mold on vegetables and fruits.

By the method herein described, foul air, gases and moisture are removed from the storage compartment and previously cooled fresh air introduced in place thereof by reason of the flow of gas from the cornpart-I ment and continuously subjecting the product to a circulating body of cool air of substantially natural density and composition.

Apparatus by means of which the process may be performed is shown in the accompanying drawings Villustrative of a refrig erator car in which the car body 1 is of any approved type of construction provided with doors at the side as indicated by dotted lines 2. At each end of the car are shown ice bunkers 3 and 4 each provided 'with hatches 5, 5 reached through the usual openings in the car roof which are also closed by hatches yin the usual manner, but not here shown.

The bunkers'are provided with a slotted bottom 6 Vspaced from the floor of the car below which is a drip pan 7 ordinarily provided with a drain pipe (but not here shown). The car body is preferably formed with spaced double vwalls 8 and 9 which are lined upon the inner surface to shield the interior of the car from outside heat.A The ,rearwall 10 is alsospaced from the inner wall 9 providing an air space or chamber 11, which is in communication with the exterior of the car by means of the conduit 12 preferably positioned near the top at about the level of ice in the ice bunker. Each ice bunker extends preferably entirely across the end of the car as does also the air chamber 11, while the inner wall of the ice bunker does not extend to the car ceiling 13, thus providing an opening 14 into the storage compartment at the upper end of the ice chamber. Opposite the opening 14 and somewhat higher than the upper edge of the inner wall is an opening 15 providing a means of communication 'the car ceilingproper and having the same width as the storage compartment but less in length extending nearly tothe openings' bunkers and the other opening near said other ice compartment.` Near the 'cross member 18 upon each side thereof are provided discharge openings 19, 19 leading-into i a space between the ceiling and roof of the car in thev constructionhere shown, andthe car roof is also provided with similar openings 20, 20 in communication with the same spaces. These openings 20 are preferably provided with a; screen 21 to prevent dust from passing into the compartments through the said openings. The tube 12 should also be provided with a similar screen.

With ice in the bunkers, a circulation of air in the storage compartment is produced as is indicated y the arrows to the left of Fig.- 1, and with the two ice compartments shown, this circulation is set up at each end of the car which is the usual path of circulation of air in any ordinary refrigerator or refrigerator car. It is to be understood that a single conduit or iiue opening at the upper end ofthe ice compartment and leading to f the openings in the car roof or storage cham.

ber may b"e utilized with equal facility especially if the storage compartment is of small Ycagcity.

ith fruit or other perishable products in the refrigerator, a gas (principally carbon dioxid) is formed which, if the refrigerator v mgfrom the product from `the circulating be tightly closed as is usual, will cause pressure withinthe car andas the gas circulates with the air it tends to hasten the ripening or deterioration of the product. This continual circulation of foul airis .the principal reason that various products of a perishable nature may not be kept in'the same compartment without' contamination.

@With applicants device and by reason of 'the circulation naturally set up 1n the compartment by means Vof the ice, the cooled A' air flowing downvard 'adjacent the ice comartme'nt forces t e' gases upward from the ttom of the yrefrigerator toward the ceiling and thence eachway toward the'top of the ice bunker thus forcin the gases and warmer air to position to ow between the shield and. the ceiling of, the car and out through the ,vents 20rand 21. A portion of the circulating body thus readily ows from the compartment 4which 1s open to atmosphere at a point lower than'the outlet. The

-ers and is thus introduced into the compartment and circulating body at about the same temperature as that of the circulating body.

.The inlets 12 in a car of the usual capacity are about l inch in diameter and the vents 19 and 20 are each about@ inch. Therefore, nov great volume of air may be introduced, the requirement being that the inlet should be a size to allow air to How in quantity that is suicient to replace the volume of gas produced 'by the stored material and discharged from the compartment.

Air flowing into the storage compartment through the air opening 151is drawn from the air space 11 ywhich 1s supplied through the tubes 1-2.- The outsidevair4 thus first con'- tacts the wall 10 of the chamber and' is somewhat cooled prior to passing through the inlet 15 and by placing the inlet 15 higherv than the tube 12 the outside air may not passl directly into the compartment thus providing time intervaly forthe cooling of the air. This How of air is believed to be continuous Athatpis, as the gasl arises from the product and' the foul air passes out of the storage compartment throu h the openingS- body'and introducing cooled air into 11i the circulating bodyl As before stated themethod may performed in aA properly constructed refrigerator of any type havling 'a storage compartment. protected t from the Ainfluence o f warm atmosphere and 111 subject to the influence of air circulating within the compartment and cooled by a refrigerating element, for instance, ice/ or the cooling coils of an artificial refrigerating system. By the'v arrangement of the aper- '121 ture 12 and 15 and flue l6fas stated, the gas or foul air iscontinuously-.separatedfrom the circulating airV and the circulating' body ismaintained in a substantiallyV pure c on'dif tion by' introduction of fresh cooled air. 12!

While I am aware of other refrigerators in which` an opening is provided forfthe escape of gas-and also an vop `ani'11g for the introduction of fresh air, yet 1n no case my knowledge are the .and foulau' 1m separated from the circulating body previous to its discharge from the compartment and replaced with fresh air cooled previous to its introduction into the storage compartment.

Having thus briefly described my invention, its utility and mode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is'- 1. The herein described method of preventing deterioration of perishable products which consists in subjecting the product, while segregated from the atmosphere, to the iniuence of air naturally circulating by influence of a cooling medium, separating the gases and foul air from the circulating body bymeans of a vent to atmosphere in the upper part of the compartment, the cirf culation causing movement of the gases toward the vent, and introducing fresh air into the compartment by influence of the movement of gases and air through the vent.

2. The method of preventing deterioration of perishable products consisting in placing the product in a compartment t0 shield it from the influence of atmosphere and subjecting the same to the iniuence of air naturally circulating by influence of a cooling medium, continuously discharging the gases and foul air produced by the products from the upper part of the compartment adjacent the cooling medium, and introducing fresh air into the compartment at a point below the outlet by influence of the movement of gases and foul air from the compartment.

8. The herein described method of preventing deterioration ofperishable products consisting in subjecting the product, while segregated from the normal atmosphere, to the influence of air caused to circulate'by a cooling medium, continuously discharging gases and foul air from the circulating body and introducing cooled fresh air into the circulating body by influence of the discharge of said gases.

4. The herein described method of preventing deterioration of perishable products consistmg in subjecting the product, while in the compartment and segregated from normal atmosphere, to the influence of air caused to circulate by a cooling medium, separating a portion of the gases and warmer .air from-the circulating body and discharging the same from the compartment, and maintaining the circulating body in substantially natural condition by introducing previously cooled fresh air thereinto Iby iniuence of the discharge ofthe gases from the compartment.

5. The herein described method of preventing deterioration of perishable products consisting in subjecting the product, while in a storage compartment, to the influence of air caused to circulate by a cooling medium, causing a portion of the gases and foul air arising from the product to flow outj of the circulating body and thence from the compartment, yand introducing previously cooled fresh air into the circulatingbody by infiuence of the flow of said gases and` foul air therefrom.

6. The herein described method of preventing deterioration of perishable products consisting in subjecting the product, While in a storage compartment and segregated from atmosphere, to the influence of air caused to circulate therein by a cooling medium located Within the compartment at one side thereof whereby the circulation is downward contiguous to the cooling medium and outward from the medium at the bottom, forcing the gases and foul air toward the-top of the compartment, and causing said displaced gases and foul air to flow toward the top of the cooling medium by means of a lue opening to atmosphere at one end and opening into the compartment at the top adjacent the cooling medium whereby-a portion of the gases in the air are drawn intothe flue and separated from the circulating body and introducing fresh air .l

into the compartment over and in contact With the cooling medium by iniiuence of the movement of the gases and air from the compartment, the inlet being at a point below the point of separation of the gases from the circulating body.

7. The method of preventing deterioration of perishable products, consisting in subjecting the product while segregated from normal atmosphere to the influence of cooled air caused to circulate within the compartment, continuously discharging gases and foul air from the circulating body, and introducing cooled fresh air into the circulating body by influence of the said discharge.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specili- 

